Package for keeping products separate before use

ABSTRACT

A package for keeping products separate until use comprises a container (1) provided with an upper mouth (2) inside which a capsule (3) is inserted; the capsule having a bottom (4) which is destined at the moment of use of the package to be broken by a cutting element (11). A cap (13) covers the capsule (3) and the cutting element (11), and is screwed on a sleeve (6) solidly constrained to the capsule (3). When a security strip (16) is removed the cap (13) can be screwed, placing a pressure on the cutting element (11) which causes the capsule (3) to be ruptured and a product contained therein to mix with a product contained in the container.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 ofPCT/IT97/00222, filed Sep. 10, 1997.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a package for keeping products separate beforeuse. For some time now the market has offered medicines packaged in twoseparate phases: the first of the medicines is a powder, while thesecond is a liquid, and they have to be kept separate until the momentof use. Packages for such medicinal mixtures comprise a container forthe liquid and a capsule for the powders, which are set in communicationjust before use so that they can mix.

BACKGROUND ART

One of the packages of the above-described type on the market isprovided with a cutting element which by means of a pressure appliedthereto inserts into the liquid container, which is closed off by a thinmembrane; the cutting element ruptures the membrane so that the powderscan penetrate into the container. A package of this type is described,for example, in Italian patent for industrial invention no. 1,066,140,wherein the cutting element is in fact a hollow cylinder with anoblique-section end, made in a single piece with walls which close themouth of the container. This package exhibits a lateral strip, removableby tugging along two easy-break parallel lines exhibiting a tab-pull;the user can grip this stip, the removal of which enables the cuttingelement to make an axial movement. When it is desired to mix the powderwith the liquid solvent, the strip must first be removed and then thecutting element pressed using a finger so that the bottom of the littlepowder container is ruptured and the powders can mix with the liquid.

Another prior-art package comprises a protection hood, which covers thecutting element and the powder container and which is destined to beremoved by tearing at the moment of use in order that the cuttingelement can be pressed. A package of this type is shown, for example, inItalian application for industrial invention no. RM91A000831.

The prior art comprises U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,875 which discloses apackage comprising a capsule inserted internally of the upper mouth ofthe container. The capsule is superiorly open and is separated from theinside of the container. The capsule has a breakable bottom. A rupturingof the bottom setting the capsule in communication with the inside ofthe container. A cutting element is inserted internally of the capsule.The cutting element has a bottom end destined in use to break the bottomof the capsule. A cap is arranged on the container in such a way as tocover the capsule and the cutting element. The cap exhibits a threadwith which a screw-coupling is achieved, by means of which coupling thecap can move axially downwards with respect to the container. The axialdownward movement causes the cap to interact with the cutting element inorder to rupture the bottom of the capsule.

The prior-art packages contain some drawbacks.

Firstly, in order to avoid a deterioration of the powder quality, thecoupling between the external surface of the cutting element and theinternal surface of the powder container must be sealed to guarantee ahermetic seal on the container. However, the correct realisation of suchcoupling is especially difficult to achieve, inasmuch as if the couplingis too tight, a strong pressure will have to be applied to the cuttingelement, which is not only hard to do but can cause the user to performthe operation wrongly, i.e. not by pressing with a finger on thecap-capsule but by tipping up the package and pressing the cap against asolid surface. This can mean that the mixture is not obtained in thecorrect manner, as the powder does not fall directly into the liquid butvice-versa, leading to the formation of lumps which are difficult toremove from the cap-capsule. Thus a wrong mixture of the medicine isobtained.

In series production of plastic objects at industrial levels it is quitedifficult to obtain size tolerances which would guarantee a constantlycorrect and desired connection between the cutting element and thecap-capsule.

A further problem in prior-art packages is as follows: at the moment ofuse, after the mixing phase of the substances (powders and liquid), thecontainer is opened to allow the mixture to be removed. The powdercontainer, which stays in the mouth of the container even after the caphas been extracted, represents an obstacle which can disturb thepouring-put of the mixture, making it irregular and discontinuous.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An aim of the present invention is to eliminate the above-describeddrawbacks by providing a package, simple in construction and economical,which guarantees the seal and security of the package before use andwhich enables the package to be opened simply and practically.

The invention allows the powder container to be set in communicationwith the liquid container by means of a simple screwing operation of theformer on to the latter, requiring only a small effort on the part ofthe consumer, who, among other things, will not upturn the package inorder to break the bottom of the cap-capsule and so will avoid theproblem of lump-formation and the like.

Also, at the moment of use and after the mixture has been united, thepowder-container can be removed from the mouth of the container togetherwith the cap and the cutting element, so leaving the container mouthfree of obstruction. An advantage of the invention is that is provides apackage which is easily realisable and which is safe fromliquid-permeation and which guarantees that the cap cannot be removedfrom the container until after the mixture of the two products has beenobtained.

The above aims and others besides are all attained with the package ofthe invention, as it is characterised in the claims that follow.

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention willbetter emerge from the detailed description that follows of a preferredbut non-exclusive embodiment of the invention, illustrated purely by wayof non-limiting example in the accompanying figures of the drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a vertical elevation of an embodiment of the package;

FIG. 2 is a section made according to line II--II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is the section of FIG. 2 with the package in a differentconfiguration in which the products, separated previously, are now incommunication;

FIG. 4 is the package of FIG. 3 with the cap detached from thecontainer.

The package of the invention comprises a container 1, provided with anupper mouth 2, internally of which a superiorly-open capsule 3 isinserted slightly tight. The side surfaces of both the capsule 3 and themouth 2, set in contact at the moment of packaging, guarantee a perfectseal against any possible leaking of the liquid from the container 1.The capsule 3 comprises a bottom 4 which is easily breakable along aperipheral easy-break line 5. The bottom 4 of the capsule 3 separatesthe liquid present in the container 1 from the capsule 3 itself. Whenthe bottom 4 is ruptured the capsule 3 is set in communication with theinside of the container 1.

A cutting element 11, having the shape of a hollow cylindrical body, ispredisposed internally of the capsule 3. The external surface of thecutting element 11 is coupled by slight sealing friction with theinternal surface of the capsule 3. The lower end 12 of the cuttingelement 11 is sharpened inasmuch as it exhibits an oblique section,which pointed lower end 12 is destined in use to break through thecapsule 3 by means of an applied pressure. FIG. 3 shows the package withthe capsule 3 broken through by the cutting element 11 and set incommunication with the inside of the container 1.

The package further comprises a cap 13 arranged on the container 1 insuch a way as to cover the capsule 3 and the cutting element 11.

The various elements composing the package are made of plastic formedicinal use, of known type and in common use.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the package before use, with the liquid (the solvent)in the container separated from the powder (the solute) in the capsule3.

The cap 13 is screw-coupled directly on a thread 25 predisposed on theneck of the container 1.

The capsule 3 exhibits an upper part 21 situated above the upper marginof the mouth of the container 1. The internal diameter of the upper part21 of the capsule 3 is greater than the external diameter of the cuttingelement 11 inserted sealedly in the capsule 3. In the assembledconfiguration of FIG. 2 (before use) the upper part 21 of the capsule 3can thus be elastically deformed internalwise. The cutting element 11exhibits a tract 22 which in use (when the package is to be used) isdestined to contact the internal surface of the upper part 21 of thecapsule, so as to prevent said upper part 21 from being deformedinwardly. An annular projection 23 internal of the cap 12 exhibits aninternal diameter which is smaller than the internal diameter of thethread 14. During the downwards axial movement of the capsule 13, thisannular projection 23 is destined to engage in an annular recessafforded on the upper part 21 of the capsule 3 so as to constrain thecap 13 and the capsule 3 one to the other in axial upward movement, withwhich the cap 3 is extracted from the container 1.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the package before use. The package exhibits abreakable ring 26 coaxially circling the container 1 and situated belowthe cap 13. The cap 13 and the ring 26 are united by means of easy-breakperimeter ribs 27. The ring 26, which has the task of guaranteeing thesecurity of the package, comprises an annular relief 28 coupled with thecontainer 1 in such a way as to prevent or limit axial raising movementsof the cap 13. The easy-break ring 26 resists attempts to unscrew andtherefore raise the cap 13 (that is, to distance it from the ring 26),while it breaks easily when the cap 13 is lowered. The ring 26 furtherexhibits an easy-break axial line 29 along which the ring 26 can beopened. In FIGS. 1 and 2 the ring 26 is still unbroken. FIG. 3illustrates the ring 26 open along the axial line 29 and detached fromthe cap 13.

At the moment of use the ring 26 detaches from the cap 13 and opens byscrewing the cap 13 (FIG. 3). During the screwing-up operation, the cap13 interacts contactingly with the cutting element 11 so that the latteris pressed downwards, breaking the bottom of the capsule. During thisphase the upper annular part 21 of the capsule is deformed inwardly,bringing the internal projection 23 of the cap 13 to engage elasticallyin the recess 24 on the upper part 21 of the capsule. This is madepossible by the fact that between the elastically-deformable upperannular part 21 of the capsule 3 and the external surface of the cuttingelement 11 there is a free space. At the end of the cap 13 screwingoperation this free space no longer exists, since the above-mentionedtract 22 of cutting element 11 is in contact with the upper part 21 ofthe capsule. In the subsequent unscrewing phase of the cap 13 thecapsule 3, made solid to the cap thanks to the coupling between theprojection 23 and recess 24, is raised together with the cutting element11. During the unscrewing phase the upper tract 22 of the capsule 3 canno longer deform inwardly--as in the screwing phase--since it is forcedinto contact between the tract 22 of cutting element 11 and the cap 13.The tract 22 of cutting element 11 having the greater diameter has thusthe task of keeping the capsule 3 and the cap 13 solidly together duringthe extraction phase from the container 1.

On packaging, the liquid is poured into the container 1; the powder isplaced in the capsule 3 which is then closed by the cutting element 11with a hermetic and waterproof seal. The assembly is then inserted intothe mouth 2 of the container 1. Subsequently the cap 13 is inserted;this is done in such a way that the annular relief 28 is constrained inthe annular cavity afforded on the perimeter of the container 1. In thisfirst conformation of the package, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, theconformation in which the package is sold, the cap 13 is solidlyanchored to the container 1 and is partially screwed on the counteritself. The cap 13 thus has a first function of preventing fraudulentaccess to the package and handling of the contents of the capsule 3 andthe container 1. As has been described, at the moment of use the ring 26is broken, so that the cap 13 is constrained to the container 1 only bythe thread coupling.

The capsule 3 is placed in communication with the container 1 by simplyrotating the cap 13, upon which the powder exit and mix with the liquidcontents of the container 1. As in other known-type packages, a strikeris provided to prevent the cutting element 11 from falling into thecontainer 1. On completion of the cap 13 screwing operation the annularprojection 23 is inserted into the annular recess 24 afforded on theupper part 21 of the capsule 3.

The second function of the cap 13 is to ensure that the above-describedoperation requires only a minimum effort on the part of the user, whowill have no difficulty in performing the mixing operation, as he or shewill only have to screw the cap 13. In the second configuration of thepackage, illustrated in FIG. 3, the cap 13 is still solidly anchored,thanks to the projection 23 and the recess 24, to the capsule and isfree of the container 1, apart, obviously, from the screw coupling.

It is now possible and indeed extremely easy to open the container 1; itis sufficient to unscrew the cap 13, which, translating axiallyupwarrds, draws the capsule 3 and the cutting element 11 bothconstrained thereto. This situation, in which the container 1 isaccessible and contains the medicinal substance already mixed, isillustrated in FIG. 4.

The package has been described with reference to the pharmaceuticalfield, but can be used in other fields besides, for example cosmetics,chemistry, food and others, wherever it is necessary to commercializesubstances, not necessarily powders and liquids as described herein, butany substances which have to be kept apart until the moment of use.

What is claimed is:
 1. A package for keeping products separate beforeuse, comprising:a container (1) provided with an upper mouth (2); acapsule (3) inserted internally of the mouth (2) of the container (1),superiorly open, an inside of the capsule (3) being separated from aninside of the container (1), the capsule (3) being provided with abreakable bottom (4), a rupturing of said breakable bottom (4) settingsaid capsule (3) in communication with the inside of the container (1);a cutting element (11) inserted internally of said capsule (3), providedwith a bottom end (12) destined in use to break the bottom (4) of thecapsule (3); a cap (13) arranged on the container (1) in such a way asto cover the capsule (3) and the cutting element (11); wherein the cap(13) exhibits a thread (14) with which a screw-coupling is achieved, bymeans of which coupling the cap (13) can move axially downwards withrespect to the container (1), so that axial downward movement causes thecap (13) to interact with the cutting element (11) in order to rupturethe bottom (4) of the capsule (3); characterized in that the cap (13)internally exhibits a projection (23) destined, by effect of downwardaxial movement of the cap (13), to engage in an upper part (21) of thecapsule (3) which is elastically deformable in an internalwisedirection, such as to constrain the cap (13) to the capsule (3) inupward axial movements for extraction from the container (1).
 2. Thepackage of claim 1, comprising means for blocking in position the upperpart (21) of the capsule (3), which means for blocking intervene afterthe projection (23) has engaged in said upper part (21).
 3. The packageof claim 2, wherein said means for blocking said upper part (21)comprises a tract (22) of the cutting element (11) conformed andarranged so as to meet with the internal surface of the upper part (21)of the capsule (3).
 4. The package of claim 1, wherein said projection(23) and said upper part (21) of the capsule (3) are annular shaped. 5.The package of claim 1, wherein the cap (13) is screw-coupled directlyon to the neck of the container (1).
 6. The package of claim 1,comprising a breakable ring (26), predisposed below the cap (13),destined to break by effect of downward axial movement of the cap (13).7. The package of claim 6, wherein said ring (26) can be opened along aneasy-break axial line (29).
 8. The package of claim 6, wherein said ring(26) is joined to the cap (13) along an easy-break perimeter line. 9.The package of claim 6, wherein the breakable ring (26) exhibits anannular relief (28) coupled with the container (1) in such a way as toprevent or limit upward axial movements of the cap (13).